The present invention relates to a disc changer. More particularly, the present invention relates to a disc changer equipped with disc carrier trays.
Disc players having changer devices equipped with a magazine wherein a plurality of carriages store and deliver discs selectively for playback are generally known. Many manufacturers of disc changers have marketed such devices. However, in these devices, playback of a single disc, not previously stored in an incorporated magazine, is difficult. A further disadvantage of these disc changers is that the changer magazine must be removed for a new disc to be installed or for discs to be changed.
A disc changer device with a tray similar to that of a single play disc player and having the added capability of single disc playback is proposed in Japanese Laid Open Utility Model Publication No. 62-195257. Such a device, Disc Changer XL-M701, has been marketed in the U.S. by the Japan Victor Corporation (JVC). This disc changer plays a disc placed on a carriage inside a tray when a play switch is selected. This disc changer can also perform a changer-play operation by playing in sequence discs previously stored in up to six carriages in the changer magazine. However, with this disc changer, it is difficult to remove or change discs in the magazine. In addition, because discs are manually installed in the magazine of this changer, they are subject to surface damage.
A disc changer, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication Nos. 1-219071, 2 and 3, is proposed that is equipped with a vertically mobile stocker, which is an equivalent of the conventional magazine. In this disc changer, discs are not subjected to destructive handling during the loading of the stocker. This is because the stocker stores carriages that are loaded with discs from a position external to the player. These protected discs are then mechanically moved to storage positions within the stocker.
However, in this disc changer, when discs are stored in the stocker, even if playback is initiated for a disc in a single play carriage, all of the discs in the changer are played back. This prevents it from operated as a single-play disc player.